I (24F) love my bf (24M), but just uncovered a gambling addiction that landed him 20K in debt. Do I stay?

I deeply, deeply love my bf, but just found out he’s been struggling with online gambling addiction. He’s maxed his 20K cc and his bank account is -2k.

I don’t have the means to financially support the both of us, and I have my own debts I have been working so hard to payoff. He’s had to borrow money from family for rent, but I don’t know how much more he can borrow.

He couldn’t be more sorry, but I’m gutted by the betrayal of trust, and the fact that I had to pull this secret out of him rather than him being honest and forthcoming. Prior to our conversation about his problem, I had been feeling like something was off and was feeling pretty lonely and sorta “neglected”. We hadn’t been having the quality time I crave and he had been buried in his phone.

I like to think I’m a good partner. I learn from my mistakes in past relationships and really try to be a better version of myself. I come from a sh*t family with plenty of addiction issues and trauma, so I like to think I’m doing my best to break the “generational curse”. This would be my 3rd long term/serious relationship, and it’s been the best one I’ve ever had. He know how to help me unpack my baggage from my awful relationships (both with ex-boyfriends and family members), and he just “gets” me.

The worst part of it all, was the fact that this squanders our plans for children, which we were right on the cusp of planning for. After a miscarriage, it’s all I wanted, and he knew that. He claims that his intentions were pure and he was trying to make enough money to bridge the gap for us, but got selfish and gambled away his winnings and then some.

I feel like I found my person, but I don’t know if this is something I should stick around for. I don’t have anyone to talk to about this.

Posted Oct 6, 2025, 7:16 PM UTC

229
Loading comments…